Because of their performance and efficiency, violet (including violet-pumped) LEDs are replacing incandescent and halogen light sources.
Existing reflectors (for commercial and residential lighting) are made from polycarbonate or polyesters highly loaded with titanium dioxide or other whitening agents. Materials in existing reflectors, however, absorb significantly at wavelengths below 430 nm, thus typically in the violet and ultra-violet part of the spectrum. Because of this absorption, using these reflectors with LEDs can in some cases be a suboptimal combination.
Effective performance is becoming more critical for better color rendering index (CRI) performance as shops and museums are expected to switch to violet-pumped LEDs, given the LEDs' higher CRI, which increased CRI makes colors appear more natural. Reflectors used in these lighting systems must thus be reflective in the violet part of the light spectrum.
Because existing reflectors do not exhibit optimal optical properties for violet-pumped LEDs, there is a long-felt need in the art for improved reflective materials.